The Scoop
by maplesuper
Summary: CLOSED- being rewritten. Please keep an eye out for the newer version.


**A/N:** Hello, Soren here. A few quick notes before we begin. First of all, I know humanization isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it's what I've chosen to do with the story and I don't plan to change that- of course, I will also be writing nonhumanized fic in the future, so please feel free to keep an eye out for it.  
>Another note- the Kylie Koopa in this story is the niece of the Kylie from Partners in Time, and not the same person, so please don't get too confused. This is explained again in the narrative.<br>Lastly, thank you for clicking that link and deciding to give this fic a try. I do hope you enjoy what you read and decide to leave a comment. I have spell and grammar checked as best I can, and apologize for any missed errors. Let's begin!

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Kylie's Big Break<strong>

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><p>Kylie C. Koopa woke up on the morning of September first refreshed and ready for anything. Today, the fall semester was beginning and classes at Shellburg University were beginning again. And while she was certainly intent on passing all her classes, the young woman was even more intent on one thing in particular- her job.<p>

Kylie tumbled right out of bed with her alarm, all angled limbs and no curves, ash blonde hair and cornflower blue eyes, like her mother. She scrambled about looking for a warm sweater and some jeans, yanked on a pair of sneakers and grabbed a newsboy cap from her dresser- today was the day.

Named for her aunt, a famous reporter, Kylie had aspired to journalism ever since she could hold a pencil. It wasn't just because she was named after a successful journalist, though that didn't hurt. She loved digging for information, and she loved divulging it, sharing it with people and educating them on what was going on in the world, from local festivals to new restaurants to how good or bad the food at those restaurants was.

With that love of sharing in mind, she had enrolled in the journalism and mass media program at Shellburg University straight out of high school, where she was now in her third year of undergrad studies, and working for the university paper- the likes of which was having its first staff meeting of the semester this very morning.

Finally dressed and ready to go, Kylie paid no heed to her sleeping roommate- they hardly ever spoke- and grabbed her messenger bag on the way out the door.

Despite her passion and excitement, Kylie was a very long way from being well known or famous the way her aunt was. Many students recognized her name, but only among the people on campus who read the paper, and that wasn't as many as some would think. Still, Kylie worked hard and put her best effort into every article, hoping that- eventually- she would catch some sort of break and get a good 'scoop' like the kind her aunt used to report on. Something with aliens would be nice, she would often tell her mother over the phone, or zombies. Something exciting. But most of the time, Kylie got stuck reporting on seminars professors were planning, or the next university concert.

There were only a few people in the newsroom when Kylie arrived, but that was to be expected. She was nearly always a few minutes early. Inside were the head editor Troy, the faculty advisor Professor Kopp, and Kylie's best friend, Truman.

Truman was gangly like Kylie, but in a less awkward way. His hair was buzzed short and he was wearing a button down and ragged jeans and sneakers, but other than his casual dress he was hardworking and professional. He had grown up across the street from Kylie, and the two were as close as siblings. He motioned to the table in front of his seat as Kylie stamped over- there was a cup of coffee waiting for her.  
>"Hey, Troo." Kylie chirped as she sat.<br>"Mornin'," Truman said, cracking a wide grin, "You're antsy. Under the impression you're gonna get some wild assignment today?"

"You never know, sport." Kylie shot back, "Nothing wrong with a little optimism."

Truman snorted a little, but he didn't make any other comment and the two of them shared a comfortable silence over their coffee while the editors and other writers and photographers slowly filtered in and took seats and prepared their notes.

The first order of business was for every section editors to go over their stories for that week and assign them. It was simple, really, and assignments went by volunteer, so nobody ever had to take a workload they didn't think they could handle.  
>However, Kylie immediately noticed something strange- every time she raised her hand, she was ignored. It happened once and she assumed that she had simply not been noticed, probably because it was the sports section and she didn't often write for them. But when it happened once, twice, three more times, she gave up and sat with her hands in her lap the rest of the meeting, wondering what was going on.<p>

She had obviously been frozen out, but nobody was acting like anything was different from usual. She sifted through her mind and couldn't recall doing anything bad or noteworthy enough to get herself in trouble, and if she had, well...they would have talked to her or let her go, at least she thought they would have. She felt Truman pat her shoulder subtly and took a quiet sip out of her quickly cooling coffee.

Before long, the meeting was adjourned and everyone began to leave. Kylie stood in unison with Truman, a lump in her throat. She hadn't bagged a single assignment this week. She could have taken on several, what with the light workload in the first month of classes, but somehow she was stuck without much to do other than study now.

It hit her that other than Truman, she didn't have many close friends at the university, nor many significant hobbies, other than photography.

"Hey, Kylie."

She turned at the sound of her name. It was Truman, looking concerned.

"I have to get to statistics right away...are you gonna be all right? I can stay behind a couple minutes and talk to Brody with you..."

Kylie shook her head. "I'll be fine. Go to class, I'll text you if it's anything serious."

Quietly, Truman nodded and tromped out of the room, the multiple buttons pinned to his denim backpack clinking against each other. Kylie looked over at Brody, the head editor, and took a deep breathe to steel herself.

"Boss." she said. Calmly as she could, she walked over to where the grad student was flipping through a file of some sort.

"Oh, Kylie." Brody said, smiling awkwardly, "Good, you stayed behind. There's something we need to talk about."

"I'll say!" Kylie burst in a slight panic, whipping her hat off and twisting it in her hands, "Boss, what was that all about earlier? Nobody called for me even once. Did I screw something up or what? Just tell me what I did wrong...I'll fix it up, good as new!"

Brody blinked. Opened his mouth, closed it. Furrowed his brow, and then...then, he gasped and got a panicked look.

"Oh no, oh god. Kylie, didn't you get my email?"

Kylie paused. Email? What email? She made it a point to check hers twice every day, morning and night, to make sure she was able to respond to friends and family and professors in a timely manner. But there hadn't been anything from work since it stopped for the summer. She said so to Brody, and he began rubbing his temples with his beefy hands.

"Oh, no...Kylie. Oh no. I'm so sorry, I can't believe it didn't go through...listen, can you take a seat at the table for me? I need to talk with you."

Once Kylie was seated, confused but relieved she had done nothing wrong, Brody sat across from her and put a thin file in front of her.

"I sent you an email about this a couple of weeks ago, but there's an article I want you to cover that's a little more long term than just a week." he began.

Kylie opened the folder. There was a short press release inside. _Professor Kerry Kolorado, famed for his research into Mushroom Kingdom Ancient History, will be doing an expedition into Hooktail Castle in the Petal Meadows area this September. He has consented to an interview during the expedition. Also consenting to an interview is location scout and linguist Kooper Kuppman._

Kylie set the file down again. There were a couple other papers, with black and white printed pictures of bus routes and printed tickets, as well as a few small photos of what she could only assume was Hooktail Castle. She looked up at Brody, silent awe spreading across her face.

"That's what my email was about. You're the most talented gal on staff, you know? And you're good at keeping your studies and work balanced, or so your professors have told me...so I think I can trust you with this. But you'll be gone until October, and now it's being sprung on you out of the blue because the email failed to send. So I understand if you don't-"

"I'm in." Kylie interrupted Brody sharply. He stared at her a moment, but then he began to laugh.

"I should have known. You really are the famous Kylie Koopa's niece, huh? Can't resist a good story."  
>Kylie nodded, feeling a fire building inside her- her first <em>real <em>story, legitimate and big. She would get to travel, speak to the university's head of Archaeological studies, and his famous assistant, who had traveled with the famous Mario Mario. This was more than she ever thought she would get to do while still in school.

"when do I need to be ready to leave, boss?" she asked.

"Those tickets in that folder are for the seven PM bus to Petalburg Village." Brody commented, "So you should go ahead and pack. It's a four hour bus ride, so bring something to do."

Kylie had saluted, fired off a "yessiree!" and left the room nearly before Brody could finish his sentence.

Once she made it back to her room, she called Truman's cell. She got voicemail, and as she pulled out her suitcase and began packing, she left a message.

"Troo," she bubbled, "It's Kylie. You won't believe what I'm about to tell you."

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><p><strong>End Chapter <strong>

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><p><strong>AN:** Once again, thank you for reading. Reviews are appreciated, as is concrit, but if all you intend to leave is a scathing or uselessly unkind remark then I assure you it's best to leave that to yourself. Nobody benefits from unkindness.

I will be updating as often as I can!


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